Arsal Gardezi NM

What you’re doing well

You show solid early development and king safety in many blitz games. In several hands you focus on quick piece activity, develop your minor pieces smoothly, and keep your king tucked in safely with quick castling. When tactical chances arise, you’re able to spot forcing lines and convert them to decisive outcomes on the clock.

• You often reach a playable middlegame with a clear plan rather than wandering aimlessly, which helps in blitz where time is tight.
• You handle typical blitz rhythms well, keeping pressure on when you find a good pawn break or a tactical shot.
• You have demonstrated strong performance in several opening frameworks, especially in familiar positional setups where you know the typical middlegame ideas.

Key improvements to focus on

• Endgame technique: In longer blitz sequences, you can tighten the transition to rook and pawn endgames. Practice common rook endings and king activity with a small set of known plans to convert extra pawns or simplify safely.
• Tactical accuracy and blunder avoidance: In some games, a missed tactic or an unclear recapture cost you material. Allocate a few seconds to verify whether a move creates a direct threat, recapture, or tactical trap for your opponent before committing.
• Time management and pacing: Develop a steady opening tempo. Try to finish the opening phase with at least a couple of minutes on the clock for the middle game. Use a simple rule like “spend no more than a fixed amount of time per 10 moves” to avoid ending up in time trouble.
• Consistent plan after the 15th move: In blitz, it’s easy to drift. After the 15th move, articulate a concrete plan (piece improvements, target weaknesses, or a pawn break) and align your next few moves with that plan.

Opening performance insights

Your data shows stronger results in certain White openings and solid performance in a few Black defenses. Based on the numbers provided, consider these practical directions:

• White: Colle System: Rhamphorhynchus Variation has a healthy win rate. Lean into a simple, reliable Colle-style repertoire as a go-to, especially in fast games where you prefer clear plans and solid structure.
• White: Amar Gambit and London System variants show competitive results. Use these as supplementary options to keep your opponents guessing, but be ready with typical middlegame ideas so you don’t get stuck in unfamiliar positions.
• Black: French Defense (especially the Exchange Variation) and French-related lines show decent results. If you like solid, structured games, keep a prepared plan for the exchanges and typical pawn structures, so you can navigate to favorable endgames.
• Avoid overreliance on the truly unknown set: The Unknown category has a lower-confidence signal. When facing less familiar lines, rely on sound generic principles (develop, control the center, keep king safe, look for a clear plan) rather than trying speculative tactics.

Rating and trend context

Your trend data shows a positive mid-term trajectory with gains across the 3- and 6-month windows, while the 12-month view dips slightly. This pattern suggests you’re making meaningful improvements in recent play, but long-term consistency could be strengthened. A focused, repeatable training routine will help stabilize gains and reduce variance in blitz results.

Practical two-week training plan

• Daily tactical puzzles: 15–20 minutes solving puzzles focused on spotting threats, forcing sequences, and simple calculations (3–4 move horizons).
• Endgame practice: 2 short sessions per week on rook endings and basic king-pawn endings. Use 10–15 minutes per session with a few randomly chosen endgame positions.
• Opening focus: Pick 2 White openings to specialize (Colle System variants you’re comfortable with) and 2 Black defences (French Exchange and a solid Kings Indian Attack setup). Spend 20–30 minutes reviewing typical middlegame plans, common pawn breaks, and typical piece maneuvers for each.
• Post-game review: For every blitz session, write down 2–3 concrete takeaways from the game (both mistakes to avoid and ideas to repeat). If possible, annotate one recent game with the aim of highlighting a better plan 3–4 moves ahead.
• Time-check routine: In every game, make a quick keepsake of time at move 10 and move 25. If you’re under time pressure, switch to “safe moves” that maintain position rather than chasing win lines.

Optional notes and placeholders

If you’d like, we can attach specific game records or PGN snippets to your plan to analyze key moments. Placeholder previews can be inserted for targeted study, such as annotated lines from the two openings you choose to prioritize, or a short post-game summary for your next practice session.